Cable cutting device



May 19, 1936- F. J. VAN LAANEN, JR 2,041,385

CABLE CUTTING DEVICE Filed Apri l 12, 1955 INVENTOR.

m4 1 MW% ATTORNEY- Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CABLE CUTTING DEVICE Application April 12, 1935, Serial No. 16,021 4 Claims. (01.164-80) This'invention relates to improvements in cable cutting devices.

Inrecent years, particularly since the advent of the four-wheel brake, actuating power has been 5 transmitted "to vehicle brakes through the medium of flexible cables. This cable is usually formed of a plurality of twisted strands of high tensile strength, high carbon, tempered steel. Necessarily, this material :cannot be "easily cut, and 10 therefore in assembling'brake actuating mechanism, difiicu'lties are encountered when it is necessary to sever a cable at a desired point. In my copending applicationserial #8516, a brake actuating'de'vice is disclosed wherein a cable, which is 15 secured at one end to the brake in connection with one of the vehicle wheels, is attached to the equalizer shaft arm by means of a special fitting. In making said attachment, it is customary to first determine by experiment with oneend of the cable 20 see 'req to the b'rake, the approximate point at which the other "end of the cable is to be severed. Heretofore it has been necessary to remove the cable entirely from the vehicle, after determining the length desired, place it in a slotted die, and 25 then use a hack saw to make the cut. The hack saw methodis objectionable however as in order to cut the-extremely high tensile strength strands, expensive hack saw blades of high speed steel m st be used. Furthermore, each blade will only 30 stand up for abouttwo cuts, The method is} also objectionable as the hack saw tends to spread the strands, leaving a bulky end for insertion in a fitting, The use of an abrasive Wheel is objectionable as it also te n dsto undesirably broom out the cable end. While thistype of cable may be out a chisel or shear, these methods tend to depress or deform the cut end sothatit cannotbe inserted in a snug fitting aperture of an attachmerit Ih'e'rnbe'r. v H s i r a H It is one of the objects of thepresent invention to provide a simple and durable cutting device which makes it possible to sever a brake assem: bly cable while one end of said cable, is connected to the vehicle, and which cutting device is further 45 adapted for general us in severing various types of cables, rods, or the like. i H

A further object of the, inventionis to provide a cable cutting device which is so constructed as to maintain the cut end in its original shape 50 that is; it is adapted to sever around cable, for eiafiiple; without disturbing v the true circular cross sectional shape at the cut end. 7 A bii sans: bl 'ifi t e] inv n is to accomplish the above purpose by providing means fer maintaining and holding the cable in its proper cross sectional shape to prevent brooming, and by providing a'tool so shaped as to operate without causing distortion by compression.

A further object f the invention is to provide a cable cutting device which will also preserve the original shape of the end of the severed portion, so that said severed portion may be salvaged for future use.

A further object or the invention is to provide a device of the class described wherein the body 10 is transversely slotted to facilitate the insertion of the cable therein, said slotted construction permitting cutting at either an intermediate or an end portion of the cable length.

Qthe r objects of the invention are to provide a cutting device which is inexpensive, which will last for an indefinite period, which is of unusually convenient size, and which can be used without the aid of an auxiliary holding die.

a With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of an improved cable cutting device and all of its parts and combinations as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the a same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views, a

I V g. 1 i's afragmentary side e'levational view showing portions of a brake assembly, slightly in perspective, parts being shown section, and the improved cutting device being shown in a position to sever-the end of the cable;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the cutting device, part being broken away and shown in vertical section; v I

Fig. 3-is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig 2;

I a Fig. fl is a-perspective view of the cutting plunger; and i Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of thedevice showing how a handle may be used in connection therewith, part being broken away and shown in section. r V k Referring more particularly to the drawing, while the device is obviously capable of general use, Fig. 1 illustrates an adaptation for which it is particularly suited. said figure, the numeral 6 designates the equalizer shaft of a vehicle, said shaft having a rigidly mounted arm I which extends in both directions from the shaft. One end of the arm is connected to a clevice 8 and said clevice may have threaded therein an extension stud 9 projecting from one end of a cable end clamping device H). A cable ll which has one end I operatively. connected to the brake l2 of the vehicle is adapted to have its other end se- 6 cured in the fitting II). It is usual practice, in making said connection, to insert the end l3 of the cable loosely in the fitting 10 to determine where the end should be cut off in order to obtain a desired tautness in the cable assembly. With the present methods, after the point is determined and marked, it is necessary to disconnect the cable from the brake, take it to a work bench and place it in a holding die so that a hack saw may be employed to make the desired cut. This method is obviously troublesome, and in addition, the hack saw method'of cutting is highly objectionable. The brake cable, as before mentioned, is formed of a plurality of strands of high tensile strength, high carbon, tempered steel, and in order to cut material of this nature, expensive hack saw blades of high speed steel must be employed. The expense of this cutting is augmented because of the fact that the blade will only stand up for about two cuts. Furthermore, the use of the hack saw tends to broom out the end of the cable so that insertion into the snug fitting bore of the cable clamp I0 is rendered difficult. If a chisel or shear is employed for severing the cable in the place of the hack saw, the end is necessarily compressed or squeezed into elongated cross sectional shape so that it cannot be inserted in the cable clamp ID. The present invention makes it possible to perform this out while one end of the cable H is attached to the brake without brooming out or otherwise distorting the cut end so that said end may be readily inserted in the bore of the cable clamp ID.

The device comprises two principal parts, a body I 4 and a plunger I5, both formed of high grade tool steel. The body is preferably substantially circular in cross section and may have an inwardly tapered upper end portion l6. Said body is formed with a vertical bore I! extending therethrough for slidably receiving the plunger I5. The body is also formed with a transverse slot or aperture I8 which intersects the verical bore and which is substantially semicircular in plan view so that the slot communicates with the front of the tool and with opposite sides thereof. The inner portion of the slot 18 is rounded as at I9 to conform substantially to the shape of the cable H to be inserted therein. (See Fig. 3.) While the major portion of the slot [8 has a thickness just slightly greater than the thickness of the cable to be inserted therein, there is one portion on one side of the vertical bore H which is depressed as at 2|.

The plunger has its upper projecting end provided with an integral head 22 and has its lower end bifurcated as at 23, the inner portion of said bifurcation being rounded as at 24 to conform to the shape of the cable. The plunger 15 is also provided on one side with an elongated recess 23. A set screw 24 accessible exteriorly of the body, has its inner end projecting into the slot 23 as at 25 to thereby form a guide for maintaining the bifurcated lower portion of the plunger in proper alignment. If a handle is desired,

" such as the handle 26 shown in Fig. 5, the set screw 24 may be incorporated in the inner end of the handle.

In the use of the device, it may be positioned on the garage floor in the manner shown in Fig. l and the end of the cable II which is to be cut, inserted therein so that the point on the cable which is to be cut aligns with the right hand side of the bore ll. (Referring to Fig. 2.) The plunger is of course held in an upward position while the cable is inserted in the slot IS. The plunger is then permitted to fall into contact with the cable so that its bifurcation 23 embraces the portion of the cable spanning the vertical bore in the manner shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Next, the head 22 of the plunger is struck by a relatively heavy mallet and this impact causes a shearing action to take place along the line 21 to sever the cable at this point. The cable is not severed on the other side of the plunger due to the fact that the slot [8 is depressed as at 2|. This depression permits the severed portion of the cable to drop to the bottom of the depression 2|. Due to the fact that the inner portion of the slot I8 is shaped to conform to the shape of the cable, the latter is maintained in its original shape so that it will not broom out during the cutting operation. Furthermore, due to the fact that the plunger is not formed with a chisel edge or the like, there IS no squeezing of the cable during the cutting such as would deform the cut end and render it diflicult to insert said end in the clamping device It]. The action is also such that the severed portion of the cable is cleanly cut so that this portion may be salvaged for future use.

Due to the use of the slot l8 which communicates with the front of the device, the cable may be readily placed in position for cutting, whereas if merely a transverse bore were employed, to intersect the vertical bore, then the cable would have to be threaded into the body and a cut could not be made unless there was a free end.

The nature of the material used in the cutting device is such that an unlimited number of cuts can be made without affecting the device and therefore the device can be used repeatedly for an indefinite period.

While the cutting device is particularly adapted for use in connection with brake cables as shown in Fig. 1, it can of course be advantageously employed in many other connections. The transverse aperture or slot may also be proportioned and shaped differently to take materials of different cross sectional shape or of different diameter and to hold said materials in proper shape so that the cut ends will not be dis torted. It is also obvious that force may be applied to the plunger [5 in other ways than by a striking impact on the head 22, as the device could easily be made in more complicated form to embody leverage or the like for aid in depressing the plunger. Various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:-

1. A device for cutting a cable comprising a body portion having a vertical bore and having a slot extending laterally inwardly from the front of the device and terminating in a curved inner end portion which communicates with the vertical bore and which is offset downwardly on one side of said bore, the cable being insertable in said slot and guided thereby to cutting position against said curved inner end, and a plunger slidable in said vertical bore and having an upwardly projecting impact end, said plunger having its lower end formed with a vertically extending slot having a curved upper end portion, said plunger being movable to a position wherein the curved upper end of the plunger slot fits around a portion of the cable to cooperate with the curved inner end of the lateral body slot to hold. the cable in proper position and cross sectional shape prior to and during cutting.

2. A device for cutting a cable comprising a relatively small one piece body of tool steel having a vertical bore and having a slot extending laterally inwardly from the front of the device and terminating in a curved inner end portion which communicates with the vertical bore and which is ofi-set downwardly on one side of said bore, the cable being insertable in said slot and guided thereby tocutting position against said curved inner end, and a plunger slidable in said vertical bore and having an upwardly projecting impact end, said plunger having its lower end formed with a vertically extending slot having a curved upper end portion, said plunger being movable to a position wherein the curved upper end of the plunger slot fits around a portion of the cable to cooperate with the curved inner end of the lateral body slot in holding the cable in position, said cooperating curved slot portions being conforming in shape to the cable so that the cable maintains its original cross sectional shape after cutting.

3. A device for cutting an elongated member comprising a body portion having a vertical bore circular in cross section and also having a transverse apperture intersecting said bore and communicating with opposite sides of the bore, said aperture being shaped to receive the elongated member to be cut, and a plunger circular in cross section slidable in said vertical bore and having an upwardly projecting end, said plunger having a side vertical groove and having its lower end bifurcated to embrace the portion of the elongated member spanning the vertical bore and being adapted to cooperate with the body in shearing said elongated member in response to applied force on the projecting end of the plunger, and means removably insertable in the body for cooperation with the vertical groove of the plunger to prevent rotation of said plunger and thereby maintain the bifurcated end in proper alinement.

4. A device for cutting an elongated member comprising a body portion having a vertical bore circular in cross section and also having a transverse aperture intersecting said bore and communicating with opposite sides of the bore, said aperture being shaped to receive the elongated member to be cut, and a plunger circular in cross section slidable in said vertical bore and having an upwardly projecting end, said plunger having a side vertical groove and having its lower end bifurcated to embrace the portion of the elongated member spanning the vertical bore and being adapted to cooperate with the body in shearing said elongated member in response to applied force on the projecting end of the plunger, and a handle having its inner end removably insertable in a side of the body and cooperable with the groove of the plunger to prevent rotation of the plunger and thereby maintain the bifurcated end in proper alinement.

FRANCIS J. VAN LAANEN, JR. 

